Works Of Machiavelli Research Articles

The problem of creativity and scientific heritage of Machiavelli in the framework of the historiographical assessments of Francesco De Sanctis

The article deals with the problem of creativity and scientific heritage of Niccolò Machiavelli in the system of historiographic assessments by Francesco De Sanctis (1817-1883). The author states the importance of addressing this issue in the era of globalization, since the era of the Italian Renaissance reflected cardinal changes in the interpretation of the historical process. In addition, in the era of globalization, the question of the system for forming the stages of historiographic assessments of Machiavelli's scientific heritage has significant methodological potential. Of particular interest in this regard is the Italian historiography of the 19th century, which developed under the influence of the emergence of a single centralized Italian state. What the Italians failed in the 16th century, what Machiavelli dreamed about in the final chapter of The Prince, became a historical fact in 1861. Of course, before the Italian historiography, a natural question arose about the creation of a holistic picture of Italian social and political life, within which the name of Machiavelli was to occupy a significant place. Thus, after Italy gained its statehood in the 19th century, representatives of Italian historiography faced the task of determining the true place of the entire scientific heritage of Machiavelli within the framework of Italian historical development. This task was brilliantly solved in the framework of the «History of Italian Literature» by Francesco De Sanctis (1817-1883).Consideration of the problems of creativity and scientific heritage of Machiavelli in the system of historiographic assessments by Francesco De Sanctis allows us to state the deep theoretical and methodological significance of these assessments. In de Sanctis' assessments of Machiavelli's heritage, not only a dry academic approach prevails, but also the desire to tie these assessments to De Sanctis' contemporary Italian political life of the 19th century. The scientific heritage and work of Machiavelli is considered by Francesco De Sanctis as a kind of lesson for the present. Machiavelli, who relies on realism and yet pays tribute to Fortune, is regarded as precisely a modern author. The assessments of the outstanding Italian scholar expressed in the second volume of the «History of Italian Literature» laid the foundation for a significant part of the modern interpretation of Machiavelli. In the era of globalization, the appeal to the key aspects of the formation of assessments of creativity and scientific heritage of Machiavelli within the framework of Italian historiography of the 19th century is of considerable interest. Thus, the views of Machiavelli were formed in a complex and rich atmosphere of the decline of the political influence of Italy, which became a fact after the military events of 1494. This allows us, in turn, referring to the heritage of the Florentine thinker, to see the content of his concepts in the light of the challenges of the era of globalization and the formation of a new world order.

Towards material anti-oligarchic constitutionalism

Constitutional democracies have allowed for patterns of accumulation of wealth at the top, leading to acute inequality and dangerous oligarchization of power. Moreover, the theoretical tools that liberal constitutionalism offers are inadequate to recognize systemic corruption and structural forms of domination that are enabled by law or its absence. As an alternative, the article proposes a material methodological approach to the study of constitutions. In the first section, it offers a critical analysis of the intellectual foundations of liberal constitutionalism, engaging with the right to property, political representation, and separation of powers. In the second section, it presents the intellectual foundations of plebeian constitutionalism in the works of Machiavelli, Condorcet, and Marx. Finally, it proposes a material approach to assessing constitutions, identifying the shortcomings of contemporary legal frameworks to materialize social rights, as well as new avenues for institutional anti-oligarchic innovation.

Šta jeste "republikanizam"? Republika kao "forma vlasti" i republika kao "forma vladavine"

In this paper, we discuss the meaning of the words 'republic' and 'republicanism'. These words are classic political terms, frequently used in political theory and political practice as well. Still, do they convey clear and unambiguous meaning to everybody? Is it possible to find a single sense and meaning of the word Republic/republicanism? Is something like that even necessary? How to understand and justify the intense contemporary scientific discussion on that topic? In general, it is possible to use three types of classification. First, we can analyze different theories of republicanism, such as the ones we have in the works of Machiavelli, Kant, and alike. Secondly, it is possible to analyze the different historical forms of the notion of Republic - for example, Roman Republic, Republic of Venice, or the United States. Thirdly, we can analyze different doctrines of republicanism, such as the so-called liberal republicanism or civic republicanism. In this text we will go through these forms of Republic and republicanism using the Kantian formula of 'government' and 'sovereignty'.

Critical philology and Dante’s Commedia: A couple of thoughts and a few examples

Not only literary students, but also well-known scholars share the idea that the reconstruction of a text is a routine job which leaves little room for creativity. After some 40 years during which I have edited or prepared the edition of works of Machiavelli ( Discorso intorno alla nostra lingua), Pietro Aretino ( Cortegiana) and Torquato Tasso ( Aminta), and 17 years devoted to the textual transmission and the text of Dante’s Commedia, I think that, except for the first phases of the job, textual editing requires almost constant critical thought and interpretation. I shall present a little series of examples, mostly from Dante’s Commedia, with cases ranging from decisions in the realm of accidentals to rather complicated choices among competing substantial readings and to the risky enterprise of emendation against all the witnesses of the work. While these examples can give an idea of the novelty of some solutions of my forthcoming edition (the introduction and Inferno will appear in the summer of 2021), in my view, they seem to confirm the opinion of the great classical philologist Giorgio Pasquali, for whom textual criticism isn’t mechanical; it is methodical.

Constitutional Theories of Emergency Powers and their Limits: Perspectives from Vietnam, India and Canada

Abstract This paper seeks to examine the available constitutional models of theories of emergency powers. Part I of the paper traces the historical origins and the subsequent development of emergency states, drawing lessons from the works of Machiavelli, Schmitt, Rossiter, Rousseau... Part II presents and discusses some of the most important contemporary theories of emergency powers that propose different views and perspectives on the central issue of the attribution and exercise of State powers in times of emergency, i.e., either in the hands of the executive, the legislative or the judicial branch of the state, and why. Part III illustrates the concerns pertaining to emergency powers by looking at examples of three specific countries, namely Vietnam, India and Canada.

Soft-balancing: SADC Former Liberation Movements’ Responses to the Imposition of Sanctions on Zimbabwe 2002 -2015

Background: This paper addresses a popular dichotomous African nationalist and independentist approaches to foreign policy mainly characterised by soft balancing and quiet diplomacy. This dichotomous approach has been dominated by the need to maintain independence from resurgent neo-colonial claws by promoting African agenda. The African nationalist and independentist prism are used to interrogate the misconceptions created by the resurgence of meetings of former liberation movements in Southern Africa.
 Objective: This paper aims to proffer alternative political survival tools that can be adopted by the weak global south states against resurgent neo-colonialism.
 Methods: Using the work of Machiavelli on international anarchy complemented by the soft balancing as a real-power politics theory, the paper offers alternative lenses to interpretation of impact of sanctions and subsequent strategic alliances formed after 2002 in Southern Africa.
 Findings: Depending on the dominant realist paradigm to analyse sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, the paper confirms the anarchic nature of international society and that the formation of alliances was not an ad hoc reaction.
 Conclusions: Arguing that the world is anarchic and there is no international arbiter, the paper recommends soft balancing as a political survival strategy.
 Implications: This paper can be useful to concerned authorities of Zimbabwe in planning appropriate policies post sanction. For that purpose this study can serve as reference.

Legado de Maquiavel no teatro de Luigi Pirandello

O presente artigo pretende analisar as obras Mandragola (1518), de Nicolau Maquiavel, e L’uomo, la bestia e la virtù (1919), de Luigi Pirandello, buscando evidenciar que, embora em séculos diferentes, os textos dos dramaturgos facultam um diálogo no que tange à utilização do recurso de máscaras sociais para encobrir seu real interesse, como, por exemplo, na figura do astuto, que usa uma poção na tentativa de ajudar a personagem principal a resolver seus problemas, e no emprego do riso como recurso estilístico. Assim como na obra de Maquiavel, é possível encontrar no texto de Pirandello uma sátira sobre a Itália de sua época, indicando uma série de hábitos de sua sociedade e, tal como Lucrezia na obra de Maquiavel, a Sra. Perella da obra de Pirandello disfarça sua traição e, mediante o riso (ou mais especificamente o riso humorístico), o autor siciliano direciona o público a perceber que, independente da época, manter as aparências é mais relevante para a manutenção do status social do que a essência e a virtude.

The Idea of Power

The paper introduces the idea of political power as it is developed in the works of Machiavelli, Marx and Foucault. The paper defines “power” in a number of ways to reflect the complex use of this idea. Originally delivered as a lecture at the Australian National University, the paper introduces the idea of power as it is discussed in political philosophy.

Hannah Arendt e o Diabólico Maquiavel

Resumo: Este artigo investiga a concepção de Hannah Arendt sobre Maquiavel a partir do conjunto dos textos da autora ao longo de sua maturidade intelectual, expressando prioritariamente as suas concepções em dois deles: um redigido originalmente em 1963, intitulado Sobre a revolução; e outro, Entre o passado e o futuro, por sua vez revisto e ampliado numa edição de 1968. Num pensamento de ciclo de reação em cadeia, a autora atribuiu ao Maquiavel uma compreensão insuficiente do mundo grego, causando uma vulgarização do mito de fundação. Como resultado, o campo de ação para Maquiavel se restringe à adaptação amoral da vida pública, lançando mão da violência na política por meio de ações cínicas, o que acaba por influenciar no estatuto revolucionário de todas as revoluções violentas posteriores. O problema desta análise de Arendt perpassa por uma abstração irrazoável e uma compreensão parca tanto da cena histórica e da obra de Maquiavel como do próprio mundo contemporâneo e das contingências históricas dos processos revolucionários.

Analysis on the variations of the concept of power in the political and social environment

The concept of power acquires different meanings according to the dimension, the historical cut and the circumstances that are being analyzed. Power has been characterized as the base of state domination over civil society and individuals. However, the concept of power can not be reduced to a univocal sense, because it also occurs in interpersonal relationships and social micro-structures. This article reviews the literature on the subject from the works of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Arendt, Foucault, Bobbio and Bauman, highlighting the various configurations and manifestations of power, mitigating its centralization at the state instance and extending to other dimensions of society.

Resistance and radical democracy: freedom, power and institutions

ABSTRACTIn this article, I argue that resistance and radical democracy can be used to the good of representative democracy. I submit that resistance is about the popular power – the freedom as power – to create better institutions. I argue that the conflict and resistance that is at the core of radical democracy enables freedom and democracy and resists domination best if it is institutionalized. This counterintuitive claim is substantiated by an argument for freedom as power through representation and how the power to resist is linked to at least four domains of freedom. This builds on the work of Machiavelli, Marx and Foucault, amongst others, and insights drawn from resistance struggles across the globe. I end by proposing institutional changes to representative democracy that, I suggest, would allow us to conceive of democracy as both a form of government and a constantly destabilizing transgressive practice.

COGNITIVE CORRUPTION AND DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY

Abstract:This essay defends deliberative democracy by reviving a largely forgotten idea of corruption, which I call “cognitive corruption”—the distortion of judgment. I analyze different versions of this idea in the work of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Bentham, and Mill. Historical analysis also helps me rethink orthodox notions of corruption in two ways: I define corruption in terms of public duty rather than public office, and I argue that corruption can be both by and for political parties. In deliberative democracy, citizens can take off their party hats and may be more influenced by the force of the better argument than in party democracy.

Lefort as a reader of Machiavelli and Marx

This essay begins with the contention that phenomenology has taken a “hermeneutic turn,” “the things themselves” are always already interpreted. Philosophers often elaborate their own positions through a “reading” of the works of other philosophers. This is the case for Claude Lefort. Through his interpretive reading of the works of Machiavelli one sees the origin of Lefort’s idea of the autonomy and the anonymity of the political and thus his notion of political modernity. In tracing the evolution of Lefort’s relationship to Marx, we witness the process by which he disengages himself from his early “enchantment” with the works of Marx and the idea of the proletariat as a class bearing universal interest. Ultimately he criticizes Marx for his attempt to derive the political from the dimension of the social. This issues in his theory of totalitarianism as the attempt of a regime to close in on itself, thus denying any gesture to the dimension of the other.

Más maquiaveliano que maquiavélico: La presencia de <em>El príncipe</em>, los <em>Discursos sobre la primera década</em> de Tito Livio y <em>La vida de Castruccio Castracani</em> en <em>El político Don Fernando el Católico</em> de Gracián

Uno de los objetos más habituales de la bibliografía sobre Gracián consiste en el estudio de la presencia del maquiavelismo en su obra. Ha sido frecuente considerar al jesuita aragonés como un autor proclive al maquiavelismo. Además, en esta extensa bibliografía, se ha privilegiado el estudio general del maquiavelismo frente a la recepción de ideas concretas de Maquiavelo en el corpus de Gracián. En este artículo, quiero estudiar el modo como El político Don Fernando el Católico incluye ideas de El príncipe, los Discursos y La vida de Castruccio Castracani, lo que constituye una completa novedad bibliográfica. Entre otras, las ideas que Gracián comparte con Maquiavelo son las siguientes: la teoría de la ocasión y del riscontro, la división de los políticos entre impulsivos y cautos, el criterio para evaluar las acciones de un político y el modo de escribir una biografía política. De este modo, más que un autor maquiavélico, Gracián aparece retratado como un autor que comparte con el Secretario florentino una gran número de convicciones, muchas de ellas completamente alejadas del Maquiavelo inmoral.

Virtuous networks: Machiavelli, speed and global social movements

This article uses accounts of the different ‘Facebook Revolutions’ of 2011–2012 (the Arab Spring, European Anti-Austerity protests, Occupy) to speak to a broader narrative in contemporary culture: the cyber-utopian belief in social media as a fast track to political change. To critique this narrative, the article turns to the work of Machiavelli (specifically the vision of temporality expressed in his concept of fortuna). Machiavelli’s nuanced theory of politics, with its attentiveness to both slow-moving community-building, as well as audacious, fast-moving action, makes him ideal for thinking through transnational activism in a globalized and accelerating world. Such a framework can help us think critically about social media, avoiding the pitfalls of cyber-utopianism, while embracing opportunities that information technologies might provide us with. It also reorients our thinking about Machiavelli, rescuing him from his caricature as a ‘thinker of speed’, instead highlighting his attentiveness to the multiple temporalities of political life.

Machiavelli, the Prince and the Idea of Justice

Machiavelli has been conventionally considered the founder of the autonomy of politics because he was thought to have completely ignored ethics and justice in his analysis of the most important princely virtues. This new reading of The Prince, the Discourses, and other works of Machiavelli, demonstrates that the principle of justice is often invoked according to the traditional forms of legal and political literature. This is particularly evident in two of his minor works: the so-called legal comedy Belfagor, il demonio che prese moglie, and in the Allocuzione ad un magistrato, which is a humanistic paean to justice.

Reflections on the Misrepresentation of Machiavelli in Management: The Mysterious case of the MACH IV Personality Construct

Niccolo Machiavelli is credited with inspiring the MACH IV personality assessment instrument, which has been adopted widely in management, both public and private. The personality this instrument maps is manipulative, deceitful, immoral, and self-centred. The instrument emerged in 1970 and created a minor industry. There are at least eighty empirical studies in management that involved more than 14,000 subjects. Richard Christie, who created the scale, has said that it is derived from the works of Machiavelli. In a standard debriefing after completing this scale, respondents would be told it concerns the Machiavellian personality. We argue that the Machiavellian personality in MACH IV has little, if anything, to do with Machiavelli, either the man or his works. If Machiavelli is alleged to be relevant to management, we argue that this personality assessment instrument does not demonstrate such relevance. To advance this case we first describe the development of the instrument, identifying some of the assumptions upon which it rests; then we assess each of its twenty items against Machiavelli’s texts. We find fewer than half of the items have even a tenuous connection with Machiavelli’s works, yet the instrument bears his name. Against this spurious Machiavelli we juxtapose another twenty passages from The Prince, showing a much more complex and subtle thinker than the one-dimensional cipher in the MACH IV scale. Machiavelli studies have done much to dispel the cloud of mythology around the man and his reputation, and we hope to do the same to MACH IV. In the name of intellectual honesty and sound scholarship, we urge management scholars to take note of this distortion of Machiavelli, and where possible address it, and that users of the MACH IV scale distinguish the man, Machiavelli, and his works from this instrument.

Maquiavel: do cosmos medieval ao renascentista, a fortuna e as circunstâncias da liberdade

As circunstâncias se apresentam como definitivas quando se pretende executar qualquer tipo ação humana, especialmente aquelas que dizem respeito à conquista e à manutenção do poder. Admitindo-se que quanto maior a força da fortuna menor a liberdade para efetivar ações capazes de conduzir o ator político ao êxito nomundo da contingência, torna-se imprescindível saber até que ponto ela exerce poder sobre as ações dos homens. Mas será possível precisálo?Partimos do contexto histórico em que as obras de Maquiavel foram escritas para compreender a relação que o autor estabelece com a tradição, ora assumindo-a, ora a ela se opondo. Recuperamos os textos de Maquiavel e estabelecemos, então, diálogo com alguns comentadores da obra do autor para investigar a questão da fortuna propriamente dita.

Pareto, Machiavelli, and the critique of ideal political theory

Recent years have witnessed the growing prominence of a “realist” challenge to the prevailing paradigm of normative political philosophy. It is argued that “ideal theory” is fact-insensitive and presupposes conditions that are at odds with the realities of politics. While the “non-ideal” approach to political philosophy presents itself as something new, this article demonstrates, to the contrary, that it originated in the work of Machiavelli, and that it was – in more recent times – developed by Pareto. The cogency of the realist critique of abstract speculation is also demonstrated. Still, political realism remains susceptible to the objection that it rationalises the status quo and offers no basis for systemic change. In response, this article argues that Machiavelli and – especially – Pareto provided the intellectual tools to deal with this objection. Social and political change, in their analysis, can be justified on functional rather than ideal grounds.

Creating Necessity

Creating Necessity:Well-Used Violence in the Thought of Machiavelli Dustin Ells Howes (bio) Vettius Messius said to his soldiers: "Follow me. There is neither wall nor rampart in the way, but just armed forces to oppose armed forces. In valour we are equal, but in necessity which is the last weapon and best of all, you have the advantage." —Machiavelli, The Discourses on Livy (III:12) In his State of the Union address in January 2003, President George W. Bush made the case for invading Iraq, even if the United Nations failed to approve military action. Offering a personal pledge, he remarked "Whatever action is required, whenever action is necessary, I will defend the freedom and security of the American people" (Bush 2003). On the fifth year anniversary of the Iraq War, he addressed critics of the war in a speech at the Pentagon by saying the "costs are necessary when we consider the cost of a strategic victory for our enemies," and ended the speech with the remark: "The battle in Iraq is noble; it is necessary; and it is just" (Bush 2008). When Barack Obama was elected later that year, it was in part due to his early opposition to the war and his pledge to withdraw from Iraq. However, in his speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, he affirmed the principle of necessity. Expressing admiration for Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, he averred that sometimes force is unfortunately required. Using the examples of Hitler and al Qaeda, he said: "Evil does exist in the world....To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism—it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason." For this reason, "I—like any head of state—reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation" (Obama 2009). A few thinkers, namely radical pacifists, have argued that violence is never necessary or justified. Some politicians and ideological movements, fascists most prominently in contemporary politics, have argued violence is [End Page 183] good in its own right and therefore needs no justification. However, most contemporary politicians and modern political theorists forward the idea that violence is necessary. As the disagreement between President Bush and President Obama regarding the war in Iraq demonstrates, this pragmatic claim tells us little about when and what kind of violence is unavoidable. Those subjected to violence, whether individuals or states, usually do not agree with the assessment that violence inflicted upon them is necessary (although they often respond by arguing violence is the necessary response). Some of the disputes between luminaries of modern political thought can be viewed through this lens. Hobbes, Locke and Marx, for instance, each claim that violence is necessary, but what they think must be achieved through violence differs (e.g. to overawe dissenters, defend one's property, or end capitalism). What, then, does the idea that violence is necessary mean? Why does violence seem necessary to some but not others in particular circumstances? The work of Machiavelli provides some clues. A number of scholars have noticed that in Machiavelli, necessità "is not just a hostile force [but] may create opportunities" (Gilbert 1965). Victoria Kahn writes that Machiavelli's invocation of the verità effettuale, or the "effectual truth," implies that "one does not simply imitate necessity but that one can manipulate it—effect it—to one's own advantage" (1993, 211). Claude Lefort says that for Machiavelli "the political art derives from the knowledge of necessity—a knowledge guided by the examination of extreme situations" (2000, 122). Vickie Sullivan writes that when Machiavelli describes necessity he "attempts, as far as possible, to make human beings its source" (1996, 181). These commentators set us on the trail of answers to the above questions that undermine some of our basic assumptions about necessity. Machiavelli suggests that trying to determine when violence is necessary or not misses the ways in which our very impressions of what is necessary are linked to how violence is practiced. Extant scholarship offers a wide variety of opinions on Machiavelli's understanding of the proper role of violence in politics. Sheldon Wolin argues that Machiavelli counsels us...